Wapping
Location
OS grid reference:	TQ345805
Latitude:	51.50735805748748°
Longitude:	-0.06101437639838769°
Administration
London borough:	Tower Hamlets
County level:	Greater London
Region:	London
Constituent country:	England
Sovereign state:	United Kingdom
Other
Ceremonial county:	Greater London
Historic county:	Middlesex
Services
Police force:	Metropolitan Police
Fire brigade:	London Fire Brigade
Ambulance service:	London Ambulance
Post office and telephone
Post town:	LONDON
Postal district:	E1
Dialling code:	020
Politics
UK Parliament:
London Assembly:	City and East
European Parliament:	London
London | List of places in London

Wapping Old Stairs, one of many points of access to the foreshore in the area. (January 2006)

Wapping is a place in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is situated on the north bank of the River Thames between The City to the west and Shadwell to the east and north, and it faces Bermondsey and Rotherhithe on the south bank, separated from them by that section of the Thames known as the Lower Pool. It is also part of the Docklands area of London. Wapping lies between the River Thames and the ancient thoroughfare simply called The Highway. Image File history File links Greater_london_outline_map_bw. ... Image File history File links Red_pog. ... The British national grid reference system is a system of geographic grid references commonly used in Great Britain, different from using latitude or longitude. ... Latitude, usually denoted symbolically by the Greek letter φ, gives the location of a place on Earth north or south of the Equator. ... Longitude, sometimes denoted by the Greek letter λ, describes the location of a place on Earth east or west of a north-south line called the Prime Meridian. ... The administrative area of Greater London contains thirty-two London boroughs. ... The London Borough of Tower Hamlets is a London borough to the east of the City of London and north of the River Thames in East London. ... Metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties are a level of subnational division of England used for the purposes of local government. ... Greater London is the top level administrative subdivision covering London, England. ... The region, also known as Government Office Region, is currently the highest tier of local government subnational entity of England in the United Kingdom. ... Greater London is the top level administrative subdivision covering London, England. ... Constituent country is an official term used to describe three of the four principal component parts of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (UK): England; Scotland; Wales. ... Motto: (French for God and my right) Anthem: God Save the King/Queen Capital London Largest city London Official language(s) English (de facto) Unification    - by Athelstan AD 927  Area    - Total 130,395 km² (1st in UK)   50,346 sq mi  Population    - 2005 est. ... This is an alphabetical list of the sovereign states of the world, including both de jure and de facto independent states. ... The Ceremonial counties of England are areas of England that are appointed a Lord-Lieutenant, and are defined by the government with reference to the metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties of England. ... Greater London is the top level administrative subdivision covering London, England. ... The historic counties of England are ancient subdivisions of England. ... Middlesex is one of the 39 historic counties of England and the second smallest (after Rutland). ... There are a number of policing agencies in the United Kingdom. ... The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) is the Home Office police force responsible for Greater London, with the exception of the square mile of the City of London. ... Fire brigades in the United Kingdom are organised on a territorial basis. ... The London Fire Brigade (LFB) provides fire fighting and rescue services in London, UK. It is the third largest fire department in the world with nearly 7000 staff. ... This is a list of ambulance services in the United Kingdom: Ambulance services in England, after July 1, 2006 are A few deviations from the above have been made for operational reasons. ... The London Ambulance Service (LAS) is the largest ambulance service in the world that does not directly charge its patients for its services. ... A post town is a required part of all UK postal addresses. ... UK postal codes are known as postcodes. ... E1 is the London East Head Postal District. ... The UK telephone numbering plan, also known as the National Numbering Plan, is regulated by the Office of Communications (Ofcom), which replaced the Office of Telecommunications (Oftel) in 2003. ... 020 is the STD code for Greater London in the United Kingdom. ... The United Kingdom House of Commons is made up of Members of Parliament (MPs). ... Greater London is divided into a number of constituencies for London Assembly elections. ... City and East is a constituency represented in the London Assembly. ... Sign in the entrance of the European Parliament building in Brussels, written in all the official languages used in the European Union as of July 2006 The European Parliament building in Strasbourg The debating chamber, or hemicycle, in Strasbourg The European Parliament building in Brussels The European Parliament (formerly European... London is a constituency of the European Parliament. ... London (pronounced ) is the capital city of the United Kingdom and the largest city of England (strangely, England has no constitutional existence within the United Kingdom, and therefore cannot be said to have a capital). ... This is a partial list of places in London, England. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (480x640, 266 KB) Summary Wapping Old Stairs, Wapping, Tower Hamlets, London. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (480x640, 266 KB) Summary Wapping Old Stairs, Wapping, Tower Hamlets, London. ... The London Borough of Tower Hamlets is a London borough to the east of the City of London and north of the River Thames in East London. ... The Thames (pronounced []) is a river flowing through southern England, in its lower reaches flowing through London into the sea. ... Coat of arms The City of London is a small area in Greater London. ... Shadwell is a district of Stepney in Tower Hamlets, London. ... Bermondsey is a place in the London Borough of Southwark. ... St Olavs, Rotherhithes Norwegian church. ... The Millennium Dome and Canary Wharf from the Royal Victoria Dock. ... The Highway is a mile-long road in the East End of London, with several historic landmarks nearby. ...

History

Though Execution Dock is long gone, this gibbet is still maintained on the Thames foreshore by the Prospect of Whitby. (January 2006)

The area was first settled by Saxons, from whom it takes its name (meaning literally "[the place of] Wæppa's people"). It developed along the embankment of the Thames, hemmed in by the river to the south and the now-drained Wapping Marsh to the north. This gave it a peculiarly narrow and constricted shape, consisting of little more than the axis of Wapping High Street and some north-south side streets. John Stow, the 16th century historian, described it as a "continual street, or a filthy strait passage, with alleys of small tenements or cottages, built, inhabited by sailors' victuallers." Image File history File links Wapping_gibbet_1. ... Image File history File links Wapping_gibbet_1. ... Map showing the Saxons homeland in traditional region bounded by the three rivers: Weser, Eider, and Elbe Src: Freemans Historical Geographys. The Saxons or Saxon people are (nowadays) part of the German people with its main areas of settlements in the German States of Schleswig-Holstein, Lower Saxony, Saxony... John Stow (c. ... (15th century - 16th century - 17th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 16th century was that century which lasted from 1501 to 1600. ...

Wapping's proximity to the river gave it a strong maritime character for centuries, well into the 20th century. It was inhabited by sailors, mastmakers, boat-builders, blockmakers, instrument-makers, victuallers and representatives of all the other trades that supported the seafarer. Wapping was also the site of 'Execution Dock', where pirates and other water-borne criminals faced execution by hanging from a gibbet constructed close to the low water mark. Their bodies would be left dangling until they had been submerged three times by the tide. (19th century - 20th century - 21st century - more centuries) Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s As a means of recording the passage of time, the 20th century was that century which lasted from 1901–2000 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar (1900–1999... This article is about sea pirates. ... Suicide by hanging. ... Gibbet is a term applied to several different devices used in the capital punishment of criminals and/or the deterrence of potential criminals. ...

Wapping was the setting for the popular BBC sitcom Till Death Us Do Part; Wapping was also where much the book Ruby In The Smoke, in the Sally Lockhart series of books by Phillip Pullman, played out. Famous Fictional residents also include Bernard Cornwell's Major Richard Sharpe from the Sharpe book and TV series. The British Broadcasting Corporation, invariably known as the BBC (and also informally known as the Beeb or Auntie) is the largest broadcasting corporation in the world, employing 26,000 staff in the UK alone and with a budget of £4 billion. ... A sitcom or situation comedy is a genre of comedy performance originally devised for radio but today typically found on television. ... Til Death Us Do Part (also known as Till Death Us do Part)1 was a BBC television sitcom series written by Johnny Speight that ran from 1964 until 1974. ... Sally Lockhart is a fictional character in a series of books by Philip Pullman. ...

The area's strong maritime associations changed radically in the 19th century when the London Docks were built to the north and west of the High Street. Wapping's population plummeted by nearly 60% during the century, with many houses destroyed by the construction of the docks and giant warehouses along the riverfront. Squeezed between the high walls of the docks and warehouses, the district became isolated from the rest of London, although some relief was provided by Brunel's Thames Tunnel to Rotherhithe. The opening of Wapping tube station on the East London Line in 1869 provided a direct rail link to the rest of London. Alternative meaning: Nineteenth Century (periodical) (18th century — 19th century — 20th century — more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 19th century was that century which lasted from 1801-1900 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar. ... London Docks in 1831. ... Interior of the Thames Tunnel, mid-19th century The Thames Tunnel is a tunnel, 35 feet wide and 1,300 feet long, beneath the River Thames in London, between Rotherhithe and Wapping. ... St Olavs, Rotherhithes Norwegian church. ... Wapping is a London Underground station near Wapping in east London, England. ... The East London Line is a line of the London Underground, coloured orange on the Tube map. ... 1869 (MDCCCLXIX) is a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a common year starting on Sunday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar. ...

Modern times

King Henry's Wharf, Wapping. No longer a working wharf, but well-preserved. (January 2006)

Gun Wharves, Wapping. Now home to luxury flats.

Wapping was devastated by German bombing in World War II and by the post-war closure of the docks. It remained a run-down and derelict area into the 1980s, when the area was transferred to the management of the London Docklands Development Corporation, a government quango with the task of redeveloping the Docklands. The London Docks were largely filled in and redeveloped with a variety of commercial, light industrial and residential properties. Image File history File links Wapping_king_henrys_wharf_1. ... Image File history File links Wapping_king_henrys_wharf_1. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (2080x1544, 995 KB) author: whonose8472 I, the creator of this work, hereby release it into the public domain. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (2080x1544, 995 KB) author: whonose8472 I, the creator of this work, hereby release it into the public domain. ... Combatants Major Allied powers: United Kingdom Soviet Union United States Republic of China and others Major Axis powers: Nazi Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Harry Truman Chiang Kai-Shek Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tojo Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead... The 1980s refers to the years of 1980 to 1989. ... The London Docklands Development Corporation (LDDC) was a quango set up in 1981 to regenerate the Docklands area of east London. ... The acronyms Qango and Quango, variously spelt out as QUAsi Non Governmental Organisation, Quasi-Autonomous Non-Governmental Organisation, and Quasi-Autonomous National Government Organisation have been used, notably in the United Kingdom, but also in Australia, Ireland and other countries, to describe a range of organisations to which governments have...

In 1986, Rupert Murdoch's News International built a new £80m printing and publishing works in the north of Wapping. This became the scene of violent protests after News International's UK operation moved from Fleet Street to Wapping, with over 5,000 print workers being sacked when new technology was introduced. The plant was nicknamed "Fortress Wapping" when the sacked print workers effectively besieged it, mounting round-the-clock pickets and blockades in an ultimately unsuccessful attempt to thwart the move. In 2005, News International announced the intention to move the print works to places like Liverpool and Glasgow. The editorial staff will remain, however, and there is talk of redeveloping the sizable plot that makes up the printing works. [1] 1986 (MCMLXXXVI) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Rupert Keith Murdoch AC, KCSG, (born in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia on 11 March 1931) is an Australian-born businessman of Scottish ancestry and a naturalized American citizen, based in New York City, who is a global media executive and is the top shareholder, chairman and managing director of News Corporation. ... News International is a British newspaper publisher owned by Rupert Murdochs News Corporation. ... Fleet Street in 2005 Fleet Street is a famous street in London, England, named after the River Fleet. ... The Wapping dispute started on the 24th January 1986 when some 6,000 British trade unionists went on strike after months of protracted negotiation with their employers, News International (parent of Times Newspapers and News Group Newspapers). ...

Wapping places

The Prospect of Whitby, one of the most famous pubs in Britain, claims to be the oldest Thames riverside pub. (January 2006)

Perhaps Wapping's greatest attraction is the Thames foreshore itself, and the venerable public houses that face onto it. A number of the old 'stairs', such as Wapping Old Stairs and Pelican Stairs (by the Prospect of Whitby) give public access to a littoral zone (for the Thames is tidal at this point) littered with flotsam, jetsam and fragments of old dock installations. Understandably it is popular with amateur archaeologists and treasure hunters - it is surprisingly easy for even a casual visitor to pick up a centuries-old shard of pottery here. Image File history File links Wapping_prospect_of_whitby_1. ... Image File history File links Wapping_prospect_of_whitby_1. ... The Prospect of Whitby is a popular name for a pub. ...

Three venerable public houses offer much-needed refreshment after these expeditions, all conveniently located by stairs. By Pelican Stairs is the Prospect of Whitby, which makes the much-disputed claim to be the oldest Thames-side pub still in existence. Be that as it may, there has been an inn on the site since the reign of Henry VIII, and this is certainly one of the most famous pubs in London. The inn is named after a then-famous ship that docked regularly at Wapping. A replica of the old Execution Dock gibbet is maintained on the foreshore next to the pub, presumably as a warning to rowdy drinkers. (A tourist-pleaser, actually — the real Execution Dock was, in fact, by the site of the Town of Ramsgate at Wapping Old Stairs — see below.) The Prospect of Whitby is a popular name for a pub. ... For the play, see Henry VIII (play). ...

The Town of Ramsgate, another popular riverside pub. (January 2006)

Less well-known, but nonetheless popular, is the Town of Ramsgate, again on the site of a 16th-century inn, located next to Wapping Old Stairs to the west of the Prospect. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (440x640, 198 KB) Summary Town of Ramsgate, Wapping, Tower Hamlets, London. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (440x640, 198 KB) Summary Town of Ramsgate, Wapping, Tower Hamlets, London. ...

Situated half way between the two is the Captain Kidd, named after the Scottish privateer William Kidd. He was hanged on the Wapping foreshore in 1701 after being found guilty of murder and piracy. Despite an aged appearance, this pub is relatively new (1980's) although the building it occupies is much older. Howard Pyles fanciful painting of Kidd and his ship, the Adventure Galley, in a New York City harbor. ...

Nearest districts

• Bermondsey
• Whitechapel
• Rotherhithe
• Shadwell
• Stepney
• Bethnal Green
• Ratcliffe

Bermondsey is a place in the London Borough of Southwark. ... Whitechapel is a place in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, United Kingdom. ... St Olavs, Rotherhithes Norwegian church. ... Shadwell is a district of Stepney in Tower Hamlets, London. ... Stepney is a place in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. ... Bethnal Green is an area in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, in the East End of London. ... Ratcliffe is a former hamlet which now is a section of the contemporary city of Greater London, England, and is located in Stepney near the River Thames. ...

Transport

• Wapping tube station

Wapping is a London Underground station near Wapping in east London, England. ...

See also

• London Docks
• Shadwell Basin
• Tobacco Dock
• Wapping Hydraulic Power Station

London Docks in 1831. ... Shadwell Basin is the most significant body of water surviving from the historical London Docks in Wapping, London, situated on the north side of the river Thames east (downstream) of the Tower of London and Tower Bridge and west (upstream) of Limehouse. ... London Docks in 1831. ... The Wapping Hydraulic Power Station (built 1890) was originally run by the London Hydraulic Power Company in the East End of London at Wapping. ...